What is the New Testament gift of prophecy? What kinds of things will a prophecy reveal? What is the difference between teaching and prophecy? How should we define a “prophet”? Who may prophesy? These are the questions that we take up in this study of God’s Word. May our Lord enrich you in every good thing as you look to Him through His Word!

Teaching Notes:

The NT Gift Of Prophecy – Pt. 2

In our last study, we examined the authority of NT congregational prophecy, and discovered that it is fallible and imperfect, and that it is subject to the authority of Scripture.

Today, we want to ask and seek to answer several other questions about this gift of God.

1. What Is The NT Gift Of Prophecy?

A. Definition: “the communication of a divine revelation”. I deliberately avoided the use of “speaking” or “proclaiming”, because, although prophecies will usually be spoken, they may be communicated in other ways as well, such as writing, or drama. If God wanted to communicate a message to someone who was deaf, he might grant a prophecy to someone , who would then write it out, or act it out for the deaf person.

B. 1Cor.14:29-30: Paul writes, “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent.” It is clear from this passage, that Paul considered a prophecy to be a revelation. Now, it is at this point, that many object, saying that a ‘revelation’ must be an infallible word from God equal in authority to Scripture. Thus, they feel, to allow ongoing ‘revelations’ means that the closed canon of Scripture is being threatened. However, before reaching this conclusion, let’s examine how the Biblical authors used the term revelation in the NT.

C. NT Uses of ‘Revelation’:

1) Phil.3:15: In this text Paul is talking about pressing on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. In other words, he is describing the attitude that all mature believers will have – that of making every effort to advance in spiritual maturity. He then goes on to say in vs.15 “Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.” Now, if God were to make known to a brother or sister their error in no longer pressing onward towards Christlikeness, and they in turn were to tell someone else what God had ‘revealed’, we would not expect that they would communicate this revelation infallibly using God’s very words. Rather, they would tell of this ‘revelation’ in their own words.

2) Ephesians 1:17: Paul prays here “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him.” What is that revelation Paul wants them to receive? He goes on to tell them it includes knowledge of the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe. Are we really to believe that every time a Christian tells another Christian about the insights from God he has received about his precious privileges as a child of God, that he is speaking the very words of God infallibly? Of course not.

3) Matthew 11:27: Jesus says, “All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Jesus teaches here that no one can come to know God unless Jesus chooses to give him a revelation. However, do we really believe that any time a believer tells someone else how he came to know God that he is speaking with absolute divine authority? Of course we don’t. All of these NT examples show that the term ‘revelation’ is used frequently of God making known something that does not in any way threaten the finality of the canon of Scripture.

D. There Are 2 Parts to every Prophecy: In order for a prophecy to be given, 2 things must take place. First, God must grant a revelation to someone. This revelation may come in the form of a dream, a vision, a picture, a strong impression or thought. Second, this revelation must be communicated to an individual or group of people. This would explain why NT prophecies must be judged, for even if someone received the revelation accurately, he might err in its transmission, either by misinterpreting it, adding to it, or trying to explain it.

2. What Will The Content Be of a NT Prophecy? Well, let’s examine the prophecies in the NT to find out.

A. Acts 5:3-9: In this passage Paul communicates divine revelations concerning Ananias and Saphira. God reveals to him that Ananias had lied about giving the entire amount of the proceeds from the sale of some land. Then God revealed to Peter that Saphira would die immediately.

B. Acts 11:27-28: Agabus prophesied that there would be a great famine over all the world.

C. Acts 13:1-2: The Holy Spirit said (probably in the form of a prophecy) that the leaders of the church at Antioch should set apart Barnabus and Saul for the work to which He had called them.

D. Acts 13:9: Paul prophesies that Elymas the magician would be struck blind

E. Acts 20:23: In every city Paul visited, the Holy Spirit testified (probably through prophecies) that imprisonment and afflictions awaited him in Jerusalem.

F. Acts 21:4: The disciples in Tyre were telling Paul through the Spirit not to go on to Jerusalem. They must have received a revelation that would suffer imprisonment and afflictions in Jerusalem. They erred, though, in telling him not to go to Jerusalem. It was God’s will for Paul to go to Jerusalem (Acts 23:11). Here is a good example of someone receiving an accurate revelation, but misinterpreting it.

G. Acts 21:10-11: Agabus prophesies that Paul would be bound by the Jews and delivered into the hands of the Gentiles. Again, there are a couple of mistakes in this prophecy, but it was true that Paul was bound and imprisoned by the Gentiles.

H. 1Cor.14:24-25: In this passage prophecies disclose the secrets of the heart of an unbeliever, so that he is convicted and called to account, and falls on his face declaring that God is really among them.

I. 1Tim.4:14: Timothy’s spiritual gift was imparted through a prophecy of the council of elders.

J. 1Cor.14:3: “But one who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and consolation.” Whatever God communicates through a prophecy will be to build up, encourage, and comfort His people. If a prophecy does not do these 3 things, it should be suspect.

Summary: In every case of the gift of prophecy, the revelation had nothing to do with truth about God, man, salvation, or last things. In every case it communicated specific information God’s people needed at that moment. In the NT prophecies cited above God communicates information about the sins of people in the church, an impending famine, setting apart 2 people for specific ministry, God’s judgment upon a magician, the afflictions that awaited Paul in Jerusalem, and the specific gift God had given to Timothy. The content of NT congregational prophecy is very different from the content of the Biblical writings of the apostles. The apostles communicated doctrinal revelation, while congregational prophecies communicated specific relevant information the church needed at that moment to serve God faithfully.

3. What is the Difference Between Prophecy and Teaching? Teaching and Prophecy are not the same thing: Many have tried to identify prophecy as preaching. However, in the list of gifts, teaching and prophecy are always separated (Rom.12:6-8; 1Cor.12:28).

A. Teaching is Based on Scripture – Prophecy is Based on a Revelation:

Acts 15:35 “But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.”

Acts 18:11 And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

Galatians 6:6 One who is taught the word must share all good things with the one who teaches.

2 Timothy 4:2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke,

and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.

B. Teaching is Based on Conscious Reflection – Prophecy on a Spontaneous Revelation: A teacher must explain and apply the word of God. In order to do this, he must meditate and study the text of Scripture.

C. The Teaching of the Word Carries Far Greater Authority than Prophecy: The Word of God is objective; prophecies are subjective. A requirement of an elder was to be able to teach. However elders did not have to be able to prophecy. Teachers gave instruction as to the doctrinal and ethical standards for the Church; prophets did not. Women were permitted to prophesy, but they were not permitted to teach men.

Summary: If a message is the result of a spontaneous revelation, it is a prophecy. If it is the result of conscious reflection on the text of Scripture, it is a teaching.

4. What is a Prophet?

A. Was It An Authoritative Office in the Church? Prophets are listed in Eph.4:11, along with apostles, evangelists, and pastor-teachers. They are also listed after apostles in 1Cor.12:28. Do these passages require that a NT prophet was an office which was invested with authority? I don’t think so. It seems to me that the terms ‘prophets’ and ‘evangelists’ are describing individuals with certain gifts, not an individual’s authoritative office in the church. Rather, the NT describes elders, not prophets, as those who were to rule and govern the church (1Tim.5:17-18; 1Pet.5:1-4).

B. If Not an Authoritative Office, then Who were the Prophets? I suggest that the prophets were those people in the Church who were known to prophecy frequently and accurately. Since prophecies are not authoritative messages carrying the absolute authority of God, prophets are not authoritative offices within the church.

5. Who May Prophesy? Is prophecy only for a select few prophets? Absolutely not! Acts 2:17 informs us that during the entire Last Days, God will pour forth of His Spirit upon all mankind and they will prophesy. In 1Cor.14:1 commands all believers in Corinth to earnestly desire to prophesy. In 1Cor.14:5 Paul says that he wishes that all the Corinthians spoke in tongues, but even more that they would prophesy. In 1Cor.14:31 Paul says that all the Corinthians can prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted. Surely all these verses are teaching us that anyone who possesses the Holy Spirit may prophesy, should God reveal something to him. Therefore, all of us need to earnestly desire to prophesy, and if God reveals something to us, we need to step out in obedience and speak it.

Practical Application of the Gift of Prophecy:

• Believers are told to earnestly desire to prophesy. When we earnestly desire something, we pray for it. Thus, we ought to pray that the Lord would enable us to prophesy. However, we need to desire to prophesy, not for our own glory but to be able to build up the Church (1Cor.14:4). We also need to avoid being overly dramatic and thus drawing excessive attention to ourselves, while at the same time not being frivolous. Above all we need to prophesy in love, seeking the spiritual good of those gathered with us.
• If we really believe God may have something to communicate to us through prophecy, we will need to be open to this possibility, and make time for it in our meetings. Perhaps it would be beneficial to set aside some time during our informal mid-week meetings (towards the end of our season of worship and prayer) to be quiet before the Lord and ask Him to speak to one of those gathered if He has a relevant message for us. Of course, should someone bring a prophetic message, the rest must judge this message by comparing it with the Word of God. If the “prophecy” is unbiblical, one of the leaders should bring a gentle correction from the Scriptures.
• If we believe God has revealed something to us, we need to be careful to avoid speaking it forth in phrases like, “Thus says the Lord”, for in doing so, we will give the false impression that we are speaking the very words of God, rather than our own human words.
• We also need to limit the number of prophecies to 2 or 3 (1Cor.14:29), and encourage people not to dominate the meeting by taking going on and on, while others don’t have an opportunity to participate (1Cor.14:26). We also need to remember to do “let all things be done properly and in an orderly manner” (1Cor.14:40).

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